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© 2022 American Association for the Advancement of Science. All rights reserved. AAAS is a partner of HINARI, AGORA, OARE, CHORUS, CLOCKSS, CrossRef and COUNTER.
Editor’s Note: This story launched this week’s Early Childhood Newsletter, delivered free to subscribers every other Wednesday with trends and top early learning news. Subscribe today! If preschool and elementary teachers are going to be better equipped to teach science, they need better training during teacher preparation programs—and that training needs to be accompanied by long-term support. That’s one of the main findings of a new report from the American Institute for Research (AIR), which looks at strategies to improve science teaching in the early grades. Researchers reviewed more than two dozen studies of programs that aimed to improve scienceRead News
The use of good images can be a boon to a researcher’s career: a compelling image can end up on the cover of a magazine, illustrate a presentation, or liven up a lab meeting. But many scientists are not trained in what makes a “good” photograph – or the best techniques for taking one. Enter the scientist at work competition Enter the scientist at work competition With the opening of Nature’s 2022 annual photo contest, two professional photographers who regularly contribute to the magazine’s weekly workplace photoshoot Where I Work offer their advice on how to take a stunning photographRead News
Nusrat Ghani is the UK’s 10th science minister since 2010. Credit: David Cliff/Anadolu Agency/Getty The UK government has finally announced the name of its next science minister. Nusrat Ghani, a member of parliament in south-east England, will take the job, which had been vacant for the last three months. The delay in appointing a minister to oversee research and innovation has worried many UK scientists, who fear that the new prime minister, Liz Truss, may not see science as a priority. It’s a relief that someone has finally been appointed to the job, says James Wilsdon, who studies science policyRead News
CERN’s core values include making research open and accessible to all. A new policy now brings together existing open science initiatives to ensure a bright future based on transparency and collaboration at CERN. During its 209th Session in September, the CERN Council approved a new policy for open science in the Organization, with immediate effect. The policy aims to make all CERN research fully accessible, inclusive, democratic and transparent, both to other researchers and to wider society. It was developed by the Open Science Strategy Working Group (OSSWG), which includes members from every department of CERN. Building on existing bottom-upRead News
LAWRENCE – If you ask someone if they’re a math or science person, they might quickly say yes or no. It turns out that how people answer this question in sixth grade and even earlier can not only tell you which subjects they prefer in school, but how likely they are to continue studying STEM subjects in college and working in those fields as adults. Findings from a new University of Kansas study suggest the importance of fostering positive attitudes towards math and science early in student life to address gender and socioeconomic gaps in STEM. The KU researchers analyzedRead News
In majestic Marmolada, the queen of Italy’s Dolomites, the first Sunday of July was a beautiful day for hikers – almost cloudless skies, 82 degrees Fahrenheit heat in the valley. But for the mountain, even the 50°F near the 11,000-foot peak was stifling. From its glacier, the largest in the range, a stretch the size of two football fields broke. Ice and debris fell with the force of a collapsing skyscraper. Eleven people – two of them experienced mountain guides – never made it home. “I saw pictures of what it was like before the collapse and I would haveRead News
COLORADO SPRINGS — Cool Science is about making science and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Math) fun for kids. It all started in 2001 when the founder Jennifer Lacy (Rivers), a chemist and engineer joined with other scientists such as Ron Furstenau and created the 501 (c) (3) non-profit in 2003. They toured local schools presenting fun chemistry and other science demonstrations. As other volunteer scientists and engineers began to grow, so did their programs. Cool Science started hosting presentations throughout the day with 4-6 different science shows and mini-carnivals with hands-on activities. In 2008, volunteer engineer Marc Staub tookRead News
Sofia Medina cautiously held out her hand toward the yellow and black ball python as it drew a crowd around the science fair booth at the California State University, East Bay campus. The python’s handler assured the 7th grader that its scales would be dry to the hand, explaining to the families gathered there that unlike humans, most snakes do not have oils on their skin. “I was very nervous – it felt nice though!” said Medina, who is from Hayward. She learned that “there’s no reason for the snake to bite you if they’re not threatened.” Students like MedinaRead News
TheScience Speaksblog series offers a deep dive into topics of science, technology and innovation in the minds of the public. The series explains focal topics through relatable analogies and asks readers to consider key opportunities, explore avenues to advance gender equity and equality, and answer the ultimate question: why should we care? In the 2009 animated comedy Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, fictional inventor Flint Lockwood creates a machine to turn water vapor into food. The machine accidentally gets lodged in the stratosphere and causes cheeseburgers to fall from the sky. The rationale for Flint’s fantastic invention is reminiscentRead News
© 2022 American Association for the Advancement of Science. All rights reserved. AAAS is a partner of HINARI, AGORA, OARE, CHORUS, CLOCKSS, CrossRef and COUNTER.
HEIDELBERG, Germany – Every September, a critical mass of the world’s most decorated computer scientists and mathematicians gather in this warm microclimate. They discuss the state of their fields and mentor 200 undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate students from around the world who have been selected in a highly competitive process. “It feels like coming home,” said Vinton Cerf, Google’s vice president and chief internet evangelist, who is also known as one of the “fathers of the internet” because he developed, together with Robert Kahn, a series of known internet architecture and protocols. such as Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). ForRead News
© 2022 American Association for the Advancement of Science. All rights reserved. AAAS is a partner of HINARI, AGORA, OARE, CHORUS, CLOCKSS, CrossRef and COUNTER.
Inspiration doesn’t play by set rules. It can come from anywhere and strike when least expected. A first hint of big ideas can hang in the recesses of the mind and push people forward in a roundabout way. Our SN 10: List of Scientists to Watch is a brief study in inspiration. For the seventh year, Science News features 10 early and mid-career scientists who are driven by curiosity and wonder, and are moving to solve some of the world’s biggest problems. Each makes a mark in the chosen field. Inspired by the beauty he saw in videos of developingRead News
Congratulations to Teame and Derya, Vertex’s New Senior Science Teachers! As they prepare to hit the books for their first year at the University of Massachusetts, let us introduce you to these two talented students who have each been selected to receive a four-year, full scholarship to pursue a STEM-related course of study. Derya Balata, future dentist Derya was born and raised in Boston, while her family came from Kurdistan. She lives in Dorchester and graduated from the John D. O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science. Growing up, she was always interested in science and biology – the study ofRead News
The MIT School of Engineering and Pillar VC today announced the MIT-Pillar AI Collective, a one-year pilot program funded by a gift from Pillar VC that provides seed grants for projects in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data science with the goal of supporting translational research . The program supports graduate students and postdocs through access to funding, mentorship and customer discovery. Administered by the MIT Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation, the MIT-Pillar AI Collective will focus on the market discovery process, advancing projects through market research, customer discovery and prototyping. Graduate students and postdocs aim to emerge from theRead News
Michaeleen Doucleff, PhD, is a correspondent for NPR’s Science Desk. For nearly a decade, she has reported for radio and the web for NPR’s global health outlet, Goats and Soda. Doucleff focuses on disease outbreaks, cross-cultural parenting, and women’s and children’s health. See stories by Michaeleen Doucleff
The winners of the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s annual Cool Science Image contest—including a quilt organized around a mathematical theorem, an image of tiny swimming plankton for their daily constitution, and lung X-rays rendered by artificial intelligence as classic works of art—are some of the most diverse representations of science in the 12- annual history of the competition. A panel of eight experienced artists, scientists and science communicators selected nine more images and videos based on aesthetic, creative and scientific qualities that distinguished them from numerous submissions. The winning entries show animal cells, crystal structure, quantum computing equipment and a broadRead News
© 2022 American Association for the Advancement of Science. All rights reserved. AAAS is partner of HINARI, AGORA, OARE, CHORUS, CLOCKSS, CrossRef and COUNTER.
Have you ever wondered why you like a particular song or genre of music? The answer may lie in your personality, although other factors also play a role, researchers say. Many people tend to develop their musical identity during adolescence, around the same time they are exploring their social identity. Preferences can change over time, but research shows that people tend to be particularly fond of music from their teenage years and more easily recall music from a certain age period – 10 to 30 years, with a peak at 14.
The study revealed that chromosomes are fluid, almost liquid, outside of their division phases. Chromosome manipulation in live cells indicates that they are fluid. Researchers from the CNRS, the Institut Curie and the University of the Sorbonne have succeeded for the first time in physically acting on chromosomes in living cells. They discovered that apart from the phases of cell division, the chromosomes are actually very fluid – almost liquid – by being subjected to different forces using magnets. The study was recently published in the prestigious journal Science. When not in their dividing phases, chromosomes are fluid, but notRead News
In one news cycle this week, we had two stories about babies in the womb garnering a lot of attention at the same time. Both relied on what science can tell us about the humanity of the unborn. The first was a good, witty segment on the Today Show. They discussed a recent study by England’s Durham University showing that babies in the womb prefer certain foods their mothers consume and have an aversion to others. A kicker? Babies express these preferences just like we do, with unmistakable facial expressions. The babies, seen on stunningly clear 3D ultrasounds, grimaced whenRead News
The Virginia Tech College of Science’s J. Mark Sowers Distinguished Lecture Series will host its first live, in-person conversation since fall 2019 on Thursday, September 29. The lecture will feature Ron Vale, vice president of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and executive director of the Janelia Research Campus in Ashburn, Virginia. Vale will discuss “The World’s Smallest Machine,” an in-depth look at how the cells in every living thing have incredibly complex moving parts that operate similar to robots. Vale is also a professor emeritus of the University of California, San Francisco, Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology. The speechRead News
Sun Camp FAQ Who is this for? All children in the United States and their sun-loving caregivers are welcome to join us as we build, experiment, and investigate using activities that bring the science of the Sun to earth. Not an expert in heliophysics? No problem! We’ll have weekly newsletters, detailed project guides, short instructional videos, Q&A sessions with real NASA scientists, outreach activities, and lots of tips to help youth feel successful and engaged. Do you have a group? Excellent! Clubs, scouts, after-school programs, libraries, museums, homeschool cooperatives, and other community organizations are welcome to join in the solar-poweredRead News
Posted on September 23, 2022 at 06:15 Jerry McNerney likes to think about what’s next. Mathematics Ph.D. and former engineer co-chair of the Artificial Intelligence Caucus and has spent most of his 16 years in Congress focusing on cutting-edge science topics. But the California Democrat said he didn’t go far enough to advance in the House. The retired member’s advice for the next generation of lawmakers in Washington? Figure out if you’re going to live here for 40 years or just 20 and plan accordingly. “That’s one thing that will help me,” he said. Wearing a solar system tie, McNerneyRead News
Brittany Leigh didn’t plan to become a communications scientist. He studied biological oceanography, focusing on viruses in marine organisms, during his Ph.D., then viruses in mosquitoes during his postdoc. For much of his early career, he envisioned himself on the professional path. “I was happy: one, participating in interesting science; second, the ability to talk to people about that science; and, third, being able to have the flexibility to create my own schedule. But during my postdoc, I realized that those fundamentals are not unique to being a professor,” Leigh said. At LifeSci Communications, Brittany Leigh can learn about newRead News
We may not always think about it, but scientific input has changed our lives. From new drugs to new technologies, science continues to shape our world. The things we take for granted may once have been the life’s work of a scientist who had to overcome adversity on the basis of gender or race. However, they persisted and communicated their ideas to the world. On the occasion of Hispanic Heritage Month, we present five Latin American scientists who have made an amazing contribution to science. 1. César Milstein (Source: Nishantadeb / Shutterstock) Born in Argentina in 1927, César Milstein’s parentsRead News
The COVID-19 pandemic has shed light on the disproportionate burden that certain diseases and conditions – such as diabetes, metabolic syndrome and mental disorders – place on historically excluded, marginalized communities. It has also drawn attention to the negative effects of implicit prejudice and the social construct of race. The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Maximizing Access Committee symposiums at Discover BMB in Seattle in March will examine the impact of implicit bias on science at the genomic level, including experimental design and data interpretation, and how they contribute to health differences. This topic is of particular importanceRead News
DURING a pandemic, scientists are becoming more prominent in the lives of ordinary people than ever before. And while covid-19 highlights the importance of the field to humanity, it also raises questions about the role of scientists in modern life. Host Alok Jha spoke with astronomer and cosmologist Martin Rees, one of Britain’s top scientists and former president of the Royal Society. His new book “If Science is to Save Us” argues that scientific knowledge can solve some of the world’s biggest problems, but it can also cause great harm. He tells us about the three “big catastrophes” that worryRead News
High-quality education in robotics, programming, coding and other key technologies is available to students across the country Governor Janet Mills today announced the launch of a new Maine Department of Education (DOE) initiative that will provide every Maine public school with a free mobile computer science lab. Funded by the Governor’s Education Emergency Fund, the effort will give all Maine students access to high-quality learning experiences that provide real-world training in robotics, programming, augmented and virtual reality, coding and hardware. In July, Governor Mills joined governors from across the country in signing a bipartisan national compact on computer science education.Read News
